June 2011
Hoppers Beat Suns In Game 3 Of Series (06/25/2011)
For the first time since the All-Star Break, the Greensboro Grasshoppers came to a ballgame and played some good baseball. Tonight was Game 3 in the series against the Hagerstown Suns, and the Hoppers started good and stayed good the whole game, resulting in a 5-1 victory. Check out the box score and game recap for the details.
Starting for the Hoppers tonight, and getting the win, was Zach Neal, and even though I’m mostly over the Bryce Harper Hype, I was interested in seeing if there was going to be any fallout from the famous kiss the last time these two faced each other. I was glad to see that there wasn’t. I was also glad to see that Bryce wasn’t getting nearly as many boos tonight as he was Thursday and Friday nights. He deserved them, and heckling is part of baseball, but it’s time to move on, and it seems like everyone’s moving on. Harper batted four times, and I only heard heckling during his last two at bats.
Scoring for the Hoppers was Noah Perio, Christian Yelich (three runs on two hits, including a solo home run in the 8th!), and Mark Canha. The Hoppers got their runs in the first, third, and eighth innings. Scoring for the Suns was Adrian Sanchez, in the first inning. Neither team had any errors.
Tonight, I was especially impressed with the Hoppers defense. Christian Yelich made an amazing sliding catch for a third out at one point. Several times during the game, Noah Perio extended his arms, which much be at least ten feet long, to stop grounders from getting past the infield, almost always in time to throw the ball to first for an out. Jacob Realmuto threw from home to both second (twice) and third (once) to catch runners attempting to steal, twice for the third out in the inning. After six innings, Neal was relieved by Mike Ojala, who pitched a single perfect inning. Grant Dayton relieved him to to pitch two great innings, where he faced seven batters and struck out four of them.
Tonight, the Hoppers were celebrating Christmas in June. Here’s the entertainment crew leading the crowd in “N-O-E-L” (not “Y-M-C-A”):
N-O-E-L (not Y-M-C-A)
I got a couple of pictures of the game action, too. Here’s a shot of Jacob Realmuto at bat, followed by a shot of Grant Dayton pitching.
Jacob Realmuto At Bat
Grant Dayton Pitching
It was really nice to see the team win tonight. With three games played, we’re still in last place for the second half, two games out of first. But now we’re tied with the Delmarva Shorebirds and the West Virginia Power at the bottom. The Kannapolis Intimidators are alone at the top, undefeated so far. I hope the team can come off the excitement of tonight’s win and transform that into winning momentum tomorrow.
To start the day, I headed out to the ballpark early to watch batting practice through the fence, and hopefully get a few more BP Balls. As soon as I parked, I checked the bushes in the lot across the street, because I knew at least one ball went back there yesterday and I didn’t know if it was retrieved. It wasn’t, and there turned out to be a second ball in the bush, too. So I started the day with two balls to my name. Both of them looked pretty good, suitable for getting autographed. About thirty minutes later, I picked up a third ball that rolled out to the edge of the street. I was joined by my friend Josh to watch BP, who snagged 3 balls himself and gave me one of them. A little later, I gave that ball to a family who was hanging out, hoping to get a ball, but wasn’t able to get one. They had the cutest little girl with them who was hoping to get some autographs on the ball. I ran into them after the game and they told me that they managed to get several autographs. Very cool! After BP was over, I headed down to the gate to wait for it to open, and made a couple of new friends, one of whom came in his Santa hat to celebrate Christmas in June. As part of that celebration, they were giving away some really cool snow globes. I don’t have a picture of it, so just trust me that it’s cool.
Anniversary Autograph
The game experience was great. I took a break from my diet and indulged in a Chicago Dog from the Dog Pound. That’s definitely my second favorite ballpark concession so far this year, with my favorite being the delicious Taylor Made Kettle Corn — especially since Pat’s selling a spicy variety now. Partway during the game, @beckycdraper (who follows @HoppersFan on twitter) stopped by to introduce herself to me. That was very cool, I always enjoy making new friends at the ballpark. It’s especially neat to meet people in real life who I’ve “seen” online. So thanks a bunch, Becky, for stopping by to say “hi”! I also made some new friends in the couple who had the seats next to mine for the evening. Their names are Tom and Carol, and they were at the ballpark celebrating their 34th anniversary. I have it on good authority that they’re planning on spending another 34 years together, too. Tom mentioned that he’d love to catch a foul ball sometime, but nothing came close enough to us during the game for him to try. After the game was over, I gave Tom and Carol one of the BP Balls I had for their anniversary. They surprised me by asking me to autograph it for them. I’ve never autographed a baseball, and I felt a little weird messing up the ball with my signature, but they said they wanted it, so I obliged. If I sign any more balls, I’m going to have to think about my spacing more — I ran out of room writing “Anniversary” and I didn’t have a good place to put “Hoppers Fan” on it. Oh, well, it was my first baseball autograph (I’ve autographed books before), and I don’t expect I’ll be signing many more anyway.
Happy Anniversary, Tom and Carol!
I wish I had a better camera with me than my cell phone. I’d like to say that this picture is intentionally grainy and dark in order to create an “artsy” feel, but the truth is that a cell phone is simply a terrible tool to use to take pictures in the dark. Who would have thought? So I apologize for the poor quality of all the pictures in this post, especially the one of Tom and Carol.
After the game, I went down to the dugout in an attempt to get a broken bat souvenir, but was beat out by a cute kid. She’ll probably love it more than me, so I’m not disappointed. I had a chance to chat with Kyle Winters a little bit, who told me his shoulder is feeling much better and he should be on the mound again Tuesday. I had my scorebook with me, so I flipped back to his amazing one-hitter from June 13 against the West Virginia Power, and got his autograph on it. When the scanner gets back home, I’ll try to remember to scan a copy in and post it here.
The post-game fireworks were some of the best I’ve seen this year.
I’ve got another obligation tomorrow and won’t be able to be at the game, then the Hoppers hit the road again. My next planned game is July 4, which I expect will have an amazing fireworks show.
Remember, you can click on any of the pictures in the post to embiggen them. Check out the photo album on Facebook for all the pictures. Join the conversation by leaving a comment — what are you thinking?
See ya at the ballpark!
hoppersfan@gmail.com
twitter.com/HoppersFan
Hoppers Fan on Facebook
06/24/2011 – GSO Grasshoppers v HAG Suns (Game 2)
It’s Friday. The Greensboro Grasshoppers are playing a home game against the Hagerstown Suns. There’s fireworks after the game. It’s a good deal all around. The game itself? Not so great. The Hoppers lost, 7-4. Check out the box score and the game recap for the details. The Suns started beating up on the Hoppers pretty early on, starting with back-to-back homers in the 2nd inning, followed by four runs in the 3rd inning. The Hoppers started a bit of a rally in the 9th, but a five-run deficit was simply too much to overcome. For a while, I thought we were going to play dodgeball instead of baseball. Our starting pitcher, Jheyson Manzueta (who is charged with the loss), hit 2 of their batters (Bryce Harper and Jason Martinson). The Suns’ starting pitcher, Taylor Jordan (who gets the win), hit 1 of our batters (Mark Canha). There were four home runs in the game (only one from the Hoppers, hit by Aaron Dudley), but I think the most exciting play of the game goes to Suns’ left fielder, Michael Taylor, who made an amazing catch, stealing at least a double and perhaps a home home run. I think his cleat marks may still be on the left field wall.
I headed out to the ballpark a little early to watch batting practice through the fence. The other guys who are usually there for BP weren’t there today, so I had the sidewalk pretty much to myself most of the time. Every now and then, someone came and stood by the fence for a little bit. A couple of other fans joined and stayed longer. We all got at least one BP Ball. (I got four.) And I had had fun chatting with the folks I met. I gave them cards with the blog address on it, so if any of them are reading this now, “hi!”
Hoping for a Harper autograph
Once again, the excitement of the day was Bryce Harper. Since I snagged a few BP balls, I decided that I’d try to get him to autograph one of them before the game. I’m generally only interested in the Hoppers, but I’m starting to expand my knowledge and appreciation of other ball players on other teams. Give me a few years, and I’ll have a much better understanding of the whole league.
After getting into the park and chatting with a few friends, I headed over to the visitors dugout with my baseball and my pen to join the dozen or so other autograph-seeking fans. We ended up waiting about 15 or 20 minutes, but when he made it to the dugout, he was gracious enough to sign autographs for everyone who was there. Here’s the ball I got him to sign:
Bryce Harper autographed ball
For the game, instead of sitting in my normal seat, I joined a friend who had seats available next to the visitor’s dugout, on the front row. It’s a great view of the game! I love my third-base side seats, but being right on the field was loads of fun, and gave me a chance to take some good pictures. Sadly, my only camera right now is my cell phone, so the pictures aren’t anywhere near as good as they could be.
Sitting by the visitor’s dugout also afforded me the opportunity to enjoy all the heckling that the Greensboro fans were able to scoop on the Suns, on Harper in particular. A couple of ladies even brought a sign for Harper, inviting him to “kiss this.”
Invitation for Bryce Harper to "Kiss This"
Bryce Harper On Deck
For the most part, the Suns did their best to ignore the heckling. At one point, Harper did respond with a comment. The hecklers got more responses from first baseman Brett Newsome (who reached base only once in his five at-bats), who told them that they “better watch out” and wondered why they “paid money to see this.” By the end of the game, I had a much better understanding of how heckling can be an effective tool for the fans to use to get under the skin of the opposing players. Baseball’s a mental game as much as it is a physical game, and it was clear that the heckling was affecting the Suns’ players. Obviously, it didn’t affect them enough to cause them to lose the game, but I could clearly see the effect it had.
The effect was most notable after Harper’s last at-bat in the ninth, when he returned to the dugout, threw his bat on the ground and let loose a small stream of obscenities. When the Suns took the field in the bottom of the ninth, Harper was replaced by Mills Rogers (who went to left field, with Michael Taylor moving to center). Between being hit by a pitch in his first at bat and all the heckling he endured throughout the game, Harper had a rough night. His only hit of the evening was a double, though, so it wasn’t too bad for him.
And to his credit, Harper hung around the dugout a few minutes after the game and signed a few more autographs before heading to the clubhouse. My friend and I opted to get Michael Taylor’s autograph instead.
Michael Taylor Autograph
Before you think that this Hoppers Fan blog is turning into Harper-watch blog, let me get back to talking about the Hoppers a little. Besides securing a loss, nothing was truly memorable about their game. It was nice to watch Michael Brady close the game with a perfect ninth (a pop-up and two strike-outs).
I thought the view of the downtown buildings from the third base side was nice, but one of the awesome things from sitting on the first base side is the view of the sunset. My cell phone doesn’t come close to doing it justice, but check out this picture of Isaac Galloway swinging at a ball just as the sun goes down.
Isaac Galloway And The Sunset
And a little later, after it got a little darker, James Wooster at bat:
James Wooser Under The Lights
This loss puts the Hoppers by themselves all the way at the bottom of the Northern Division standings, two games out of first. If they want a chance at the second-half playoff spot, it’s never to early to start winning.
Remember, you can click on any of the pictures in the post to embiggen them. Check out the photo album on Facebook for all the pictures. Join the conversation by leaving a comment — what do you think?
See ya at the ballpark!
hoppersfan@gmail.com
twitter.com/HoppersFan
Hoppers Fan on Facebook
06/23/2011 – GSO Grasshoppers v HAG Suns (Game 1)
So yesterday I said I’d write more about the first game of the second half. Here I am.
It was great to be back in the ballpark after the time away. I was still stinging a little bit from the Hoppers missing out on winning the first half of the season by such a thin margin. On the other hand, I was optimistic. In some respects, it’s like it was Opening Day all over again — all the teams get to start fresh and compete for the second half playoff spot. I think the team has it in them to capture the 2nd half, but it’s going to be a tough job: the SAL Northern Division is full of good teams, July and August are hot, and the second half of the season is full of all sorts of roster moves as the organization starts integrating their recent draftees and moving the better players on the team up the ladder. It’ll be hard, but I believe we have a team that’s capable of doing it, and coaching that’s capable of leading them there.
Having said all that, the first game of the Hagerstown series was not the way to start a quest for the second half playoff spot. The Hoppers lost, 6-3. Check out the official box score and game recap for the details.
I was particularly excited to have a chance to see Bryce Harper play. He’s biggest hype from last year’s draft, the number one pick for the Nationals. I missed seeing him play last time Hagerstown was in Greensboro, and I was afraid he’d get called up after the All-Star break. He didn’t get called up, so he was still on the roster.
Before the game, a group of folks gathered by the visitor’s dugout hoping for an autograph:
Hoping For A Harper Autograph
I think he signed autographs for everyone who had gathered there before the game. One of my friends dropped by during the game and let me know that he and his son got Harper to autograph the copy of Sports Illustrated that featured Harper on the cover.
I didn’t try to get an autograph during the Harper Hype. Instead, I visited the Grasshoppers autograph table and got autographs from James Wooster and Christian Yelich:
James Wooster and Christian Yelich Autographs
The most exciting part of the game was watching Harper bat. He was booed every time he came to the plate — probably a result of the kiss incident from the last series Greensboro played at Hagerstown. His five at bats resulted in only one hit. The hits he made that resulted in fly outs were very tall. I can definitely see how he’s got power to hit home runs. In yesterday’s blog entry, I linked to a YouTube video of Harper grounding out into a double play.
I left hoping that the Hoppers would be able to turn things around in game two. (Here’s a note from the future: they didn’t.) At least we struck out the Biscuitville Strike-Out Victim and we all got a coupon for a free biscuit.
No scorecard picture from this game. I don’t have my scanner, and any photos I take of it don’t turn out well at all.
Remember, you can click on any of the pictures in the post to embiggen them. Check out the photo album on Facebook for all the pictures.
See ya at the ballpark!
hoppersfan@gmail.com
twitter.com/HoppersFan
Hoppers Fan on Facebook
Hoppers Fall To Suns, 6-3
The good news is that with today’s loss, the Hoppers are only one game out of first. The bad news is that so is half the league since today’s the first day of the second half of the season. It’s like it’s Opening Day all over again, but without a lot of the excitement.
I’m too tired to sort through my pictures tonight, so I’ll write up a full blog entry later. For now, I’ll just include this video of top Nationals prospect Bryce Harper grounding into a double play.
It was nice to see Harper play since I missed him the first time the Suns were in town. It was also nice to see him only get on base once in his four at bats.
More to come….
See ya at the ballpark!
hoppersfan@gmail.com
twitter.com/HoppersFan
Hoppers Fan on Facebook
Hoppers Eliminated From First Half Pennant Race
The Hoppers lost tonight to the Intimidators, thanks to a walk-off single in the 12th inning. Prior to that run, the game had been scoreless. Thanks to streaming audio on the internet, I listened to the game, which was a pretty tense pitchers duel. Both Greensboro and Kannapolis threatened at various points during the game, but it stayed scoreless until it didn’t. Check out the box score, game recap, and game story for the particulars of the game.
The Hickory Crawdads won their game tonight, which served to clinch the first-half pennant for the Northern Division. No matter what happens in tomorrow’s games, the Crawdads will end up with a better percentage of games won for the first half of the season and earn their playoff spot. I could protest that it’s not fair because the Crawdads didn’t play as many games as the Hoppers did since two of their rained out games could not be made up. I could protest that the Crawdads had a much easier schedule. I could protest a lot of things, but it is what it is, and the Crawdads earned their spot in the playoffs. Congratulations to them.
Now that the Hoppers have tasted what it is to be so close to a playoff spot, let’s hope they can take that enthusiasm into the second half of the season and secure their own pennant. I’ve always thought the second-half pennant is more difficult to win for a variety of reasons. As the season rolls on, it’s hotter and the games are more uncomfortable to play. The punishment the players take on the field every day all season long makes them more susceptible to injury as the season progresses. And let’s not forget roster moves. As the organization works to incorporate their newly drafted and signed players, some of them are going to find their way on the Hoppers roster. And some current Hoppers are going to find themselves either moving up or moving out to make room for the new guys.
It’s been a long time since the Hoppers have been in the playoffs. We came || <– this close to making it in based on the first-half results. Let’s rally and dominate the second half and get in those playoffs.
I hate to say it, but with the Hoppers out of contention for the first-half pennant, I may decide to stay home tomorrow. The thought of a road trip isn’t nearly as exciting when I know the game outcome won’t have any bearing on the standings. I’ll play it by ear and decide at the last minute. Either way, I’m looking forward to the boys being back in town to start the second half of the season Thursday.
See ya at the ballpark!
hoppersfan@gmail.com
twitter.com/HoppersFan
Hoppers Fan on Facebook
06/16/2011 – KAN Intimidators v GSO Grasshoppers (Game 2)
I hit the road down to Kannapolis for Game 2 against the Intimidators. This is the final series before the All-Star Break. This was my first time in Kannapolis, and I’m thrilled I went down for the game. The Hoppers won, 5-2. Check out the box score, game recap, and/or game story (from Kannapolis’ point of view) for the particulars.
Pitching for Greensboro was Zach Neal, who pitched six innings and is credited with the win. He was relieved by Grant Dayton, who pitched two innings, and Michael Brady, who pitched the ninth and got the save. Both of Kannapolis’ runs happened while Neal was on the mound, who also allowed 5 of Kannapolis’ 6 hits. Neal struck out 4, walked 1, and hit 3 batters. Dayton allowed 1 hit, 1 walk, and struck out 5. Brady’s single inning of pitching consisted of two fly outs to right fielder Marcell Ozuna and a strike out. All in all, the Hoppers looked good. They fell behind in the third, when Kannapolis scored 2 runs. In the 4th, Christian Yelich scored. No more runs scored until the 7th, when the Hoppers scored three runs: Wilfredo Giminez, Danny Black, and Noah Perio. A solo home run by Mark Canha in the 8th was the final run scored in the evening.
On the Intimidators side of the scorecard, the word of the day was “error.” As in the three errors they committed throughout the game, causing 2 of the Hoppers’ 5 runs to be unearned.
This win keeps the Hoppers in contention for the first-half pennant. Unfortunately, the Hickory Crawdads also won their game, so they still lead the Hoppers in the division by a tiny percentage of games won (.591 to Greensboro’s .589). At this point, in order for the Hoppers to win the first half, they need to win one more game than Hickory does. So Hickory still needs to lose at least one game. Of course, how Hickory performs is out of the Hoppers’ hands, so the best thing they can do is continue to win games. With just two games left in the first half, the race continues to be tight.
Enough talk about the game itself, let’s switch to the experience. As I mentioned earlier, this was my first visit to a ballgame at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium. I had previously been at the ballpark to find a geocache, but I’ve never seen a game there. It’s about an hour and a quarter drive south on I-85 from Greensboro, and the drive was enjoyable enough. The stadium itself is practically right next to the interstate, so it was easy to get there once I got off the highway.
I’m a bit spoiled being able to find free parking around the stadium in Greensboro. That’s part of the difference between a downtown stadium and a stadium off by itself. The only parking available was in the stadium lot, and it cost $2. After parking my car, this is what I stepped out to see:
Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium
Once inside the park, this is what it looked like:
Inside the Park
Inside the Park
As I was walking around a bit, an Intimidators employee stopped me and directed me to the gift shop. He assured me that I would be able to find a much, much nicer hat in the store than the one I was wearing (which was, of course, my Grasshoppers hat). He even offered to come in with me and help me pick one out. When I asked, he stopped just short offering to actually purchase it for me. It was a fun conversation. Everyone I encountered at the park was friendly and helpful.
For the game, I had a ticket on the front row right next to the visitor’s dugout, right behind the on deck circle. I loved it! Here’s a picture from the game of Zach Neal pitching:
Zack Neal Pitching
The other great thing about my seat was that it was in the same section that almost all the other Hoppers fans seemed to choose to sit in. I recognized a lot of faces of the people who sit near me in Greensboro, and we all introduced ourselves to each other. Everyone was really friendly, and I look forward to continuing our friendship throughout the rest of the season. One of my new friends even insisted on buying me a soda during the second half of the game, which was especially welcome during the extended drive home. It’s funny that we sit 10 yards from each other for thirty games, and it takes running into each other on a road game to start talking. In addition to those folks, I met a father and son who also came down for the game from Greensboro. I didn’t recognize them from Greensboro, but that’s probably because they spend most of their time in Greensboro on Natty’s Hill and/or the seats near the bullpen. Again, loads of fun meeting them and I look forward to seeing them at future games downtown.
So, if you go to a Hoppers game in Kannapolis, apparently the section to be in is 107. That’s where I’ll be whenever I head back.
I also snapped a pretty cool picture of the final pitch the Hoopers took in the 9th. Isaac Galloway striking out (swinging), with Noah Perio on deck. See how cool the view from these seats are? It’s like I’m right on the field.
Isaac Galloway batting, Noah Perio on deck
I could also tell that the players appreciated having Hoppers fans at the park cheering them on. Several of them nodded in appreciation when they were in the on deck circle.
The drive back home took an extra 45 minutes because of road work on I-85N. That was unexpected, and unwelcome.
The whole experience was great — going to see my favorite team play an away game is really cool. I thought the same thing when I went to Charleston to see the Hoppers play the Riverdogs last year.
My wife went to school for a few weeks, and she took the small camera and the printer/scanner. I seem to have misplaced the DSLR, ’cause it hasn’t turned up yet. As a result, all the pictures from this game come courtesy of my iPhone and I couldn’t scan in a copy of my scorecard. So here’s a photograph instead:
Scorecard 6/17/2011: Hoppers (5) at Intimidators (2)
Remember, you can click on any of the pictures in the post to embiggen them. Check out the photo album on Facebook for all the pictures.
See ya at the ballpark!
hoppersfan@gmail.com
twitter.com/HoppersFan
Hoppers Fan on Facebook
The Hoppers Are Getting It Done
I was planning on writing up a blog entry about tonight’s win against the Kannapolis Intimidators before going to bed, but I’m not. Because of road work, traffic on I-85 N stunk tonight, adding 30-45 minutes to my drive back home. I’m already exhausted because I went to the midnight showing of “Green Lantern” last night, and I just don’t feel up to getting my pictures together enough to write a game review. Hopefully, I’ll get to it tomorrow.
So here’s the short version. The Hoppers are doing what they need to do: winning. Tonight, they won, 5-2. Unfortunately, the Hickory Crawdads are also winning. Their win tonight puts them slightly ahead of us in percentage of games won, which is how the playoff spot is determined. Obviously, at this point, the Hoppers can’t do anything to influence what Hickory does. The best thing we can do to make sure we’re in the playoffs is to win these final two games before the All-Star break. If we do that, we’ve done everything that can be done, but it won’t be enough unless Hickory loses at least one of their two remaining games.
Going to the game in Kannapolis was a blast. I’ll write more about it later, but if you go support the Hoppers in Kannapolis, plan to sit in Section 107 — we had a small, but vocal, crowd of Hoppers supporters there tonight.
More on the game to come later. After I get some sleep.
See ya at the ballpark!
hoppersfan@gmail.com
twitter.com/HoppersFan
Hoppers Fan on Facebook
Hoppin’ Hits With Jim Night At The Hoppers Game
The Hoppers announced on their Facebook page that Friday, June 24 is “Hoppin’ Hits With Jim Night” at the ballpark. We’re playing the Hagerstown Suns that night, and there already appears to be a trend to “honor” Bryce Harper, who blew a kiss to our pitcher after hitting a home run, by suggesting songs with the word “kiss” in their title.
After the incident with the kiss, the Hoppers retaliated the best way possible: by winning. This next home stand against the Suns will be the first time we play them in Greensboro since the incident. I think it will be a great way to welcome Harper back to Greensboro by letting him know that the fans here don’t appreciate his on-field antics.
So I encourage you to head over to the FaceBook post and suggest your favorite kiss-related song. Maybe the Hoppers will decide to use these suggestions every time Harper walks up to bat during this series, not just on the 24th.
See ya at the ballpark!
hoppersfan@gmail.com
twitter.com/HoppersFan
Hoppers Fan on Facebook
The Pennant Race Is On, And The Hoppers Are Still Strong
The Hoppers are doing what they need to be doing: winning. After yesterday’s loss, things got tense again. Tonight, they seem to have risen to the occasion and toppled the Kannapolis Intimidators (in Kannapolis) 4-0.
Even better, Hagerstown’s doing what we need them to be doing, too: losing. They fell to Delmarva earlier tonight. The 2nd game of their double-header appears to currently be in progress. As of now, Hagerstown is 1.5 games behind us, in 2nd place.
Unfortunately, one team is not cooperating: Hickory. They won tonight, and that has them tied with us for first. The rest of their games are against Charleston, which is an easier team to beat than Kannapolis, who we’re playing for the rest of the first half.
So we’ll see. The best thing the Hoppers can do is keep winning. It’s a tight race for the top, and everyone’s going to do what they can to get there.
I’m tentatively planning on going down to Kannapolis for tomorrow evening’s game, and maybe get a friendly voice for the Hoppers on the field. Depending on how things go, I might make it to Sunday’s game as well.
See ya at the ballpark!
hoppersfan@gmail.com
twitter.com/HoppersFan
Hoppers Fan on Facebook
06/15/2011 – GSO Grasshoppers v WVA Power Game 5
Yesterday, I had multiple options of how to spend my evening, and attending the double-header was not high enough on my list. I did get to hear most of the first game while we were driving, and I was thrilled to hear Andy Durham call the three-run walk off homer. I caught the score of the second game, saw we won, and was happy that the Hoppers swept the double-header. What a great way to carry the momentum from the one-hitter the day before. Check out the box scores (first game, second game) and the recaps (first game, second game) for the details.
Even more exciting, with Hagerstown’s game being suspended in the 11th in a 2-2 tie (game to be continued today), it put the Grasshoppers in a tie for first place in the division! With just a handful of games before the All-Star Break, we need as many wins as possible to get and stay ahead of Hagerstown, and stay ahead of Hickory and Kannapolis, who are knocking on the door right behind us.
So I went to today’s game full of hope. I’ll cut to the chase, the Hoppers lost, 3-0. Check out the box score and the recap to see how the damage went down.
I don’t know what to blame it on. Day games are often hot and stifling, but today the temperature was only in the high 70s and there was a nice breeze. The fans were supportive with a decent amount of energy. The Hoppers just seemed slow today. Our pitcher, Rett Varner, allowed all three of West Virginia’s runs on six of their nine hits. He only pitched 4 innings before being replaced by Holden Sprague, then Grant Dayton, then Jordan Conley. Offensively, the Hoppers matched the six hits the Power generated, but could not manage to score any runs.
There was some excitement when the base umpire made a bad call (yeah, I know I’m biased). Andy went to the field to chat with him about it, but the call was not overturned. Andy wasn’t particularly animated about it, so maybe my view wasn’t adequate to see the entire situation. Here’s Andy chatting with the ump:
Andy Haines chatting with the base umpire about a bad call.
Today was “Remember Whensday” and many of the Hoppers staff (thankfully *not* including Spaz) were dressed in flapper attire, complete with boas. Here’s a picture of some of them during the “YMCA” dance:
Spaz and Flappers dance the "YMCA"
Even with the loss, I had a great time at the game. My office came out, to make it a team-building event. I’m usually at the games by myself, so it was great to hang out with a bunch of my friends and enjoy the action.
Before the game, I stopped by the autograph table and got Jacob Realmuto’s autograph. He’s still on the DL from the nasty gash he got on his hand when it got stepped on as he was sliding into home a few weeks ago. He said that the stitches came out recently, and he should be cleared to play again Saturday. It’ll be nice to have him back in the line-up.
Here’s the autograph I got:
Jacob Realmuto Autograph
After today, the Hoppers hit the road for a four-game series against Kannapolis to close out the first half of the season. We’re still in the running for the coveted playoff spot, but so is Kannapolis, so I’m not expecting them to yield the next four games easily. We really need to go out there and win every one of them. Kannapolis isn’t too far away, so I’m considering heading down for the Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday games, especially if the division stays as tight as it is now.
I was disgusted enough with the game outcome that I didn’t even bother compiling the stats or comparing it to the official box. Here’s how I had it:
Scorecard, 6/15/2011: Greensboro Grasshoppers: 0, West Virginia Power: 3
Remember, you can click on any of the pictures in the post to see bigger versions of them. Check out the photo album on Facebook for all the pictures.
See ya at the ballpark!
hoppersfan@gmail.com
twitter.com/HoppersFan
Hoppers Fan on Facebook
Recent Comments